Business in brief

Citizen Staff Reports

09/27/12

Alan Wurtzel, former CEO of Circuit City Stores, will speak about his experiences leading a consumer electronics and appliances organization on Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. at University of Richmond’s Queally Hall, Ukrop Auditorium. Wurtzel joined Circuit City in 1966 as vice president of legal affairs and served as CEO from 1972-86. More recently, he has been a trustee of Virginia Commonwealth University and member of the Virginia Board of Education and State Council for Higher Education. He also served on the boards of Dollar Tree Stores and Office Depot. Wurtzel is the first speaker in the 2012-13 Robins Executive Speaker Series. The program is free and open to the public, but registration is required at http://tinyurl.com/d93jr5p .

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United Methodist Family Services has won the inaugural Carol S. Fox “Making Kids Count” award from Voices for Virginia’s Children. The award is named after Carol Fox, a Voices founder, long-time board member and tireless advocate for children. The award is given in recognition of exemplary efforts to better the lives of Virginia’s children. Winners will be honored at an evening reception on Oct. 23 at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

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Lindsey Floyd, of Richmond, has joined Rappaport Retail Brokerage as a leasing and brokerage representative specializing in the Richmond retail real estate market. Formerly with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, Floyd’s tenant representation clients currently include Jimmy John’s, Verizon, Smoothie King and The Little Gym. She also handles landlord representation, pre-development leasing and land sales.

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Sonic Drive-In has launched Limeades for Learning, a five-week program that puts Sonic donation dollars in the hands of voters to support public schools. Sonic has partnered with DonorsChoose.org and the program allows the public to vote online at http://www.limeadesforlearning.com for their favorite public school classroom projects and direct more than a half million dollars in Sonic donations. Anyone with a valid email address can vote online once per day. In addition, customers can visit their local Sonic and receive two extra votes via special bag stickers with any purchase.

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Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has announced the sale of 1600 Willow Lawn Dr. in Henrico. FM1 LLC purchased the approximately 5,000 square foot office property from Feed More, Inc. for $550,000 as an investment. John G. Myers, Jr. of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

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Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has announced the sale of an office condominium located within Springfield Professional Center at 4424 Springfield Rd. in Henrico. Seltzer Realty LLC purchased the approximately 1,900 square foot condo from Stuart Kirkland for $237,000 and will operate their business, Groundforce IT, at this location. Mac Wilson of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

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Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has announced the sale of the former Friendly’s restaurant property located at 10601 Patterson Ave. in Henrico. SDC I Patterson LLC, an affiliate of Morgan Property Group based in Charlotte, NC, purchased the approximately 3,573 square foot building from O ICE LLC for $1,125,000 as an investment. Bruce Bigger of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the seller.

RAMPS (Ramp Access Made Possible by Students) recently received an $8,000 grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. The award was one of 75 grants totaling more than $600,137 awarded by the Reeve Foundation to nonprofit organizations nationwide that provide more opportunities, access, and daily quality of life for individuals living with paralysis, their families and caregivers.

RAMPS, an organization founded by then-Henrico County high school students to build ramps for local low-income residents who need them, will use the grant to purchase modular wheelchair ramp supplies. These supplies will be used by local high school RAMPS clubs, who provide volunteers to build the ramps. > Read more.

Henrico resident Larry Loving, Jr., will compete with three other locals – Thomas Scribner (Richmond), Roscoe McGhee (Midlothian) and Larry Loving (Richmond) in the Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational National Finals at TPC Sawgrass, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Feb. 26-Mar. 1. The foursome qualified for the national golf tournament by winning the Liberty Mutual Insurance Invitational, held at Whiskey Creek Golf Club in Ijamsville, Md. on June 11. That event supported the RiteCare Center for Childhood Language Disorders.

The Henrico Police Athletic League (PAL) held its Sixth Annual Awards Banquet Feb. 5 at The Cultural Arts Center of Glen Allen, celebrating accomplishments of 2014 and recognizing outstanding contributions to the organization. Henrico County Juvenile Domestic Court Judge Denis Soden served as master of ceremonies and former Harlem Globetrotter Melvin Adams served as keynote speaker.

Among the 2014 honorees were Richmond International Raceway (Significant Supporter), Richmond Strikers Soccer Club (Significant Supporter), Henrico County Schools-Pupil Transportation (Summer Camp Supporter), Bruce Richardson, Jr. (Youth of the Year), Sandra Williams (Volunteer of the Year), Thomas Williams (Employee of the Year), Mikki Pleasants (Board Member of the Year), and Michelle Sheehan (Police Officer of the Year). > Read more.

It was another win for Willow Lawn when Travinia Italian Kitchen and Wine Bar opened there six months ago, nestled in the heart of the re-made shopping center. The contemporary American Italian restaurant boasts 13 locations up and down the East Coast, with the Henrico location opening in August.

In the same week, I hit up Travinia twice, once for lunch and once for a late dinner. At lunchtime on a weekday, I was overwhelmed by the smell of garlic and by the number of working professionals in nice suits on their lunch breaks. When we first walked in, I was concerned our meal would be a little too pricey based on the décor – it’s a really nice place. Luckily, the menu has a variety of options for every budget. > Read more.

There’s a ton of sugar in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water. Literal sugar, as SpongeBob Squarepants (Tom Kenny) and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke) inhale their own weight in cotton candy and eat ice cream, one scoop per mouthful.

At one point we burrow into the brain of our boxy yellow hero and discover the inner workings of his brain: googly-eyed cakes and candies that giggle and sing. All of which is extremely appropriate for a film like Sponge Out of Water. Because not only is the movie sweet (the “awwww” kind of sweet), but it’s the equivalent of a 30-candy bar sugar rush, zipping between ideas like a sponge on rocket skates.

The story under all this is really not that complicated. SpongeBob flips burgers at the Krusty Krab. > Read more.

With this last round of snow still fresh on the ground, the best way to start the weekend may be at Southern Season for their weekly wine-tasting program, Fridays Uncorked. Families with cabin fever will enjoy the Richmond Kids Expo, taking place tomorrow at the Richmond Raceway Complex. Some date night options include the Rock & Roll Jubilee at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen, HATTheatre’s production of “The Whale” and National Theatre Live’s “Treasure Island” at the University of Richmond. For all our top picks this weekend, click here! > Read more.